material necessities which are of greater importance than
your spiritual weariness of life ? "
" Oh, father - "
" Now you must not be weak.  You must not shirk
things. You must do the right thing."
It is strange how quietly great catastrophes take their
course. They pulled themselves together, the two
Rainers. Each thrust his slender hands in his pockets.
They did not embrace. They did not touch one another/
They were encased in shells more fragile than glass, a
single false move would have smashed to pieces what
self-control, strength and will-power they possessed.
They walked very upright side by side to the station,
Even young Rainer carried himself erect and straight in
aa effort to show how strong he was. They spoke in
brief and subdued phrases of immediate necessities and
not until the train began to move off did old Rainer stretch ,
his hand out of the window and say, almost in pity,
** Well, do your best, my boy. FU write to you when
things get as far as that - *" And young Rainer grasped
this hand with a fervent pressure which expressed all the
things he could not say, and answered with laboured
correctness, ** I will wait for word from you and then I
will arrange everything with the Geheimrat Auf Wieder-
And the train steamed off. There had been no more
talk of music between them.
Rainer had scarcely left the station before his thoughts
leapt to Helene. If help were to be found anywhere at
that moment, then it would be found with her. She was
strong, she would help carry the burden, she would com-
fort and encourage; and with her one could weep,
could let oneself go, lose oneself and throw off one's
rigorous self-controL He painted Helena's picture in
the air. She was wearing her copper frock and laughing
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